Author
Topic: BPI Tinting Unit (Read 1232 times)

A lot of you guys have been asking about a tinting tutorial. I really don't have a way of putting togther one that most of you would be able to implement, at least not without a heavy financial investment.

I have a proffesional optical lab at my disposal. The equipment I use in a BPI tint unit or system, the BPI Super Color 9 to be specific.

Here's a pic of the unit.

Each of the nine tanks holds a different dye or solution. You can get just about any color tint you want from BPI. My tank has the following colors in it at all times. Jet Black, Pink, Blue, Brown, G-15(The Color of Green Ray-Ban Lenses),Supershield Red (Very Vivid Red), Yellow, UV(For making Sunglasses), and Neutralizer(Bleach).

All of the Tints are Molecular Catalytic Tints. They bond with the plastic on a Molecular level, so they retain their color much longer than RIT Dyes.

The tints are kept at a constant temp all the time about 110 degrees

When trying to achieve a certain color for a plastic I'm dyeing, It's a lot like mixing paints to achieve a certain color. Remember your color wheel.

Not all plastic types tint at the same rate. So, if I'm tinting a Bigs Jacket Orange, I take all the pieces apart first so I can control the time each piece stay in the tint vat. The softer rubbers tend to tint much faster than some of the harder plastics.

Painted surfaces also affect the tint color. A lot of the paint Hasbro uses will not take tint or it tints much slower then the unpainted plastic. Another interestinf thing about the painted surfaces bleach out very fast. On my Twi Lek brute the paint was easily brought back to it's original coloring with a quick dip in the neutralizer. That's how I maintained the coloring of the Teeth and eyes.

This system uses a lot of different chemicals and heat, I do not suggest you try it at home. But if any of you have a friend in the Optical business, ask them if they could show how the system works. If they are in a more laxed work enviroment maybe they'll let you come back a tintker aroungd with the tints yourself.

The tinted plastics are safe. It is the same stuff you wear on your face in your sunglasses.